Greif Receives 2014 Manufacturing Leadership Sustainability Award

"DoubleGreen™ COEX" One of Industry's First Sustainable and Stackable Multilayer Jerry Cans with Polyethylene Resin Derived from Sugarcane

DELAWARE, Ohio March 19, 2014 – (NYSE: GEF, GEF.B), a world leader in industrial packaging products and services, has been recognized with the 2014 Manufacturing Leadership Award (ML Award) in Sustainability for its DoubleGreen™ COEX 10-liter plastic jerry can. This is one of the first sustainable multilayer 10-liter plastic jerry cans made from a renewable resource, sugarcane, with a stackable design that eliminates the need for a carton during transport.

The DoubleGreen COEX 10-liter plastic jerry can incorporates polyethylene that is derived from sugarcane ethanol and exceeds 50 percent of the total packaging composition. The DoubleGreen jerry can, produced in Brazil, creates a closed-loop system approach from agribusiness to agribusiness. Based upon the main Brazil agrochemical market volume, the use of sugarcane ethanol is estimated to eliminate CO2 emissions by 1,390 tons annually.

“At Greif, sustainability is an innovation driver. Our goal is to help customers reduce their own environmental footprints with quality industrial packaging. We are honored to be recognized for our dedication to innovating new packaging products derived from one of the world’s most renewable resources and that promotes the elimination of extra packaging for transport,” said Eduardo Simoniello, vice president and general manager of Greif Latin America. “At Greif we are serious about sustainability and strive to find new ways to use natural resources wisely without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs."

Greif’s efficient manufacturing process requires less material in the production of the jerry can, reducing its weight for shipping even as it maintains the same compression strength as heavier containers. Its stackable design for shipping directly on transport pallets improves inventory management cost, removes the necessity for printing a duplicate label and optimizes the recycling process. Furthermore, DoubleGreen is UN certified, which means that Greif’s customers will not need to worry about managing or paying for the UN Certification process themselves. The elimination of carton packaging is estimated to save 3,643 trees and avoid 23 tons of excess CO2 emissions.

Winners of the ML Awards will be honored on June 5 at a black-tie gala during the 10th Annual Manufacturing Leadership Summit hosted by Frost & Sullivan, a leading research firm.

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